AI Innovation in the Biopharmaceutical Industry: A New Turning Point for Drug Development and Personalized Medicine by 2026
Editor
In 2026, the biopharmaceutical industry is reaching a turning point in its paradigm with the full-scale application of artificial intelligence technology. The global AI-based drug development market grew by 42% from $19.7 billion in 2025 to $28 billion this year, indicating a fundamental change in traditional drug development methods. Particularly, the average time required for drug development has been reduced from the previous 10-15 years to 7-10 years, significantly improving the return on investment (ROI) across the pharmaceutical industry. The U.S. FDA announced that AI-based drug approvals accounted for 23% of all approvals in 2025, showing a sharp increase from 8% in 2023.
The Korean biopharmaceutical industry is also undergoing rapid changes in line with these global trends. According to the Korea Bio Association, the AI adoption rate among domestic biopharmaceutical companies increased from 34% in 2025 to 51% this year, and related investments have significantly increased, bolstered by the government’s K-Bio New Deal 2.0 policy. Major biopharmaceutical companies, including Samsung Biologics, have announced plans to invest a total of 3.2 trillion won in building AI-based drug development platforms, which is seen as a strategic move to gain a competitive edge in the global market. Particularly, the use of AI in the field of personalized medicine is increasing, leading to rapid growth in the precision medicine market based on individual genetic information.
Leading global pharmaceutical companies are maximizing the efficiency of drug development through AI technology. Johnson & Johnson in the U.S. invested $7.8 billion in AI-based drug development in 2025, improving the success rate of its pipeline under development from 12% to 18%. Swiss company Roche achieved a reduction of 3.2 years on average in the development time for cancer drugs through its proprietary AI platform ‘Pharma AI’, resulting in an annual cost-saving effect of $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, Pfizer used machine learning algorithms to secure four new indications in 2025 through its ‘Drug Repurposing’ program, which identifies new uses for existing approved drugs.
Technological Advances and Market Impact of AI-Based Drug Development
AI-based drug development technology is becoming more sophisticated in 2026, with significant improvements in the ability to analyze vast biological data due to advancements in deep learning and natural language processing technologies. Google’s DeepMind’s AlphaFold technology achieved a protein structure prediction accuracy of 94.2%, dramatically improving the understanding of target proteins. This has significantly reduced trial and error in the design process of drug candidates, increasing the success rate of the preclinical stage from 40% to 62%. According to research by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), AI-designed drug candidates have an average 35% lower incidence of side effects compared to traditional methods.
The advancement of Generative AI for Molecules technology is also noteworthy. The AI platform developed by the UK’s Exscientia designed a candidate drug for obsessive-compulsive disorder in just 12 months and entered Phase 1 clinical trials, a period significantly shorter than the industry average of 4-6 years. Canada’s Atomwise discovered 847 new drug candidates in 2025 through its AI platform ‘AtomNet’, with 23 of them entering actual preclinical trials. These technological advances are significantly improving the return on investment in research and development in the pharmaceutical industry, with the average R&D ROI in the global pharmaceutical industry rising from 1.9% in 2023 to 3.4% in 2025.
Korean biopharmaceutical companies are also actively adopting AI technology. Celltrion established a dedicated AI drug development organization in 2025 and signed a joint research agreement with Stanford University in the U.S. to apply machine learning technology to the development of antibody drugs. SK Biopharm achieved a 30% reduction in the development time for central nervous system disorder treatments through its proprietary AI platform ‘NEURO-AI’, and plans to enter clinical trials for three new pipelines in 2026. Samsung Biologics formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft to build a cloud-based AI platform to improve the efficiency of biosimilar development, achieving an average 25% reduction in development costs.
Commercialization and Market Opportunities of Personalized Medicine
The personalized medicine market is entering a full-fledged commercialization phase in 2026, with the global market size expected to grow by 38% year-over-year to reach $74 billion. Particularly, the cost of genome analysis has plummeted from $1,000 in 2020 to below $200, significantly improving the economic accessibility of personalized medicine. In the U.S., major insurance companies are already expanding coverage for gene test-based treatments, and the number of patients receiving personalized medicine in 2025 increased by 67% year-over-year to 2.8 million. This market expansion is leading to new revenue streams for the pharmaceutical industry, with the average price of personalized medicines set at 2.3 times higher than traditional standard treatments.
The CAR-T cell therapy market is gaining attention as a representative success story. The CAR-T therapy market, including Novartis’s Kymriah and Gilead’s Yescarta, grew to $8.9 billion in 2025 and is expected to exceed $12 billion in 2026. Particularly, the expansion of indications to solid tumors is accelerating, extending treatment areas beyond the existing focus on blood cancers to lung cancer, breast cancer, and more. China’s Legend Biotech recorded $2.3 billion in sales in 2025 with its multiple myeloma treatment ‘Carvykti’, showcasing the commercial potential of personalized therapies. In Korea, Green Cross Cell’s self-developed CAR-T therapy received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2025 and successfully commercialized, aiming for annual sales of 50 billion won.
The advancement of CRISPR gene-editing technology is also opening new possibilities for personalized medicine. The in-vivo gene editing technology developed by U.S. companies Editas Medicine and Intellia Therapeutics showed results in 2025 clinical trials, suppressing disease progression in 87% of patients with hereditary amyloidosis. This presents the possibility of fundamental treatment that was impossible with existing therapies, creating a new turning point in the rare disease treatment market. The global gene-editing therapy market is expected to grow to $4.5 billion in 2026, with the personalized medicine sector accounting for over 60%. Korea’s Toolgen also succeeded in developing a treatment for hereditary blindness based on its proprietary CRISPR technology, aiming to enter Phase 2 clinical trials in the second half of 2026.
The convergence with digital healthcare is also becoming a new driver for personalized medicine. Services that provide optimal treatment protocols for each patient by combining real-time biometric signal monitoring through wearable devices with AI analysis are spreading, showing an average improvement of 28% in treatment efficacy. Personalized treatment apps utilizing Apple’s HealthKit and Google’s Health Connect surpassed 100 million cumulative downloads in 2025, and the digital therapeutics market is rapidly growing. In Korea, personalized treatment solutions linked to Samsung Health are gaining attention, and the National Health Insurance Service plans to start pilot coverage for digital therapeutics in 2026, raising expectations for market expansion.
However, there are still challenges to be addressed in the spread of personalized medicine. Issues of privacy protection and the ethical use of genetic information are emerging as major concerns, with strict regulations like Europe’s GDPR posing obstacles to market expansion. Additionally, the high price of personalized therapies is a factor limiting medical accessibility, highlighting the urgent need for expanded insurance coverage and improved pricing policies. The complexity of manufacturing and supply chains is also a barrier to commercialization, requiring substantial investment in building personalized production systems. Despite these challenges, the personalized medicine market is expected to continue its growth trajectory, with high growth potential particularly in the Asian market.
The AI innovation and development of personalized medicine in the biopharmaceutical industry in 2026 are driving a fundamental change in the medical paradigm beyond mere technological progress. The shift from traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches to ‘individual optimization’ treatments is significantly improving patient treatment outcomes, while providing new business models and revenue opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry. It is encouraging to see Korean biopharmaceutical companies actively participating in these global trends and securing technological competitiveness. If supported by improvements in regulatory environments, expanded insurance coverage, and advancements in manufacturing technology, the biopharmaceutical industry is expected to make even greater contributions to human health. For investors, biopharmaceutical companies with technological prowess and pipeline competitiveness are expected to show high growth potential in the medium to long term, with companies securing a leading position in AI technology and personalized medicine fields drawing particular investment interest.
